Instagram's new accessible features get a thumbs up from visually impaired people

Social media is fast growing and is now an inevitable part of our lives. Goos
or bad, it's here to stay. And with the audience growing, they are also
becoming more accessible for people with disabilities. Like Facebook and
Twitter and now Instagram.

This popular photo-sharing app has introduced two new features
for people with low vision. The first is the introduction of automatic
alternative text so a user can hear the descriptions of photos with
the help of screen reader. It uses object recognition technology. Second is a
custom alternative text so users can add a better description of
photos that need to be uploaded. People who use the screen reader can hear
this description.

I have been using Instagram for a while now. But I have felt that it is
less accessible when compared to other social networking sites. For
instance, when I post a picture on my Instagram stories, I cannot write
captions on it. In fact, I don't even know where the options to write
captions are located. I wouldn't also know if the captions, in case I write
any, are located correctly. Hence, I avoid writing captions. I hope these
new features can solve this. It will also ensure that more visually
impaired people will join this social medium. - Simran Chawla,
Simran Chawla, Princess India 2016

Instagram announced the launch of these new features earlier this week.

Tony Kurian, a blind student at the Indian Institute
of Technology, Mumbai (IIT-M) thinks the new changes will make
Instagram the next big thing.. "Facebook and Twitter have had better
accessibility features so far and now Instagram is slowly picking up. I
believe it is going to be the next big thing in social networking sites. More
blind people are now going to join Instagram and become a part of it".

This looks like a path-breaking step towards making social media more
accessible.

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Hi, I'm Bhavna Sharma. An Inclusion Strategist with Newz Hook. Yes, I am a person with disability. But that doesn’t define who I am. I am a youth, a woman and also the 1st Miss Disability of India 2013. I wanted to achieve something in life and I have been working for the last 9 years. I have recently completed my MBA in Human Resources because I want to grow. I am like every other young person in India. I want a good education, a good job and I want to help my family financially. So you can see I am like everyone else, yet people see me differently.

Here is the Ask Bhavna column for you where I would like to talk to you about the law, society and people’s attitudes and how we can build inclusion in India together.

So, if you have a question about any issue related to disability, bring them out and I can try to answer them? It could be a question relating to a policy or of a personal nature. Well, this is your space to find the answers!